By Admin
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Ugandan Software developers have developed a new Application called fromyfarm to help farmers maximize profits by selling directly to buyers globally. The application according to Stephen Odonga, the Chief Executive Officer and Software Architect, who is also the sole sponsor of the App development is primary focus is helping smallholder farmers in Developing Countries, starting with Uganda to advertise their produce, be informed with real-time price movements and finalise the sale of their produce. It can be downloaded from the website: https://fromyfarm.app/
Fromyfarm app also supports buyers of farm produce by displaying on a map the locations by district, all registered farmers in the App, for any farm produce using a search tool. This new mapping technology will revolutionise how companies, individuals and institutions who need to buy in large quantities will be able to quickly locate the type of farm produce they need. For example, a boarding school or University that needs large quantities of maize or beans can simply search on the Farmer’s map and it will display all the farmers locations who are selling these produce by district within the whole country.
Importantly, this is uniquely a smartphone only-based App that can be downloaded from the website: https://fromyfarm.app/. It was deliberately designed for use in smartphones only and is not a web-app unlike virtually all other apps. The reason, according to Mr Odonga for this design is that the 90% of rural farmers don’t have access to the internet or cannot afford to be on the internet, so our solution is to meet their needs using a combination of Internet and SMS technology to stay in touch with their advertising through fromyfarm app. Once a buyer has been found, they will then communicate directly with them to finalise the sale and collection of the produce from the farm.
The application according to Stephen Odonga, the Chief Executive Officer and Software Architect, who is also the sole sponsor of the App development, is intended to boost farm incomes and wealth by providing high visibility to the global market for farm produce at the profitable prices for smallholder rural farmers. The primary aim of this App is converting smallholder farmers from subsistence farmers into profitable farming businesses using the power of e-commerce.
Importantly, both Buyers and Farmers will see the same price movements displayed in real-time as sales are completed between all participants, thus removing existing information privileges which currently buyers often have over farmers in the rural areas.
The farmers will be the one to decide the winner of the bids by accepting the price and buyer offers from a listing of 5 top Bids for each produce. The bidding process allows farmers to set a minimum floor price for their produce which ensures a starting price that is profitable, and the bidding can only move upwards.
Our first strategy is to activate all Ugandan farmers to join the online e-commerce fromyfarm app commodities trading exchange so that they can maximise their farm output and profitability,” he said. Most importantly, farmers in based in the village will be able to visible to buyers globally and will be able to communicate directly with them to finalise the sale and collection of the produce from their farms. That is a significant new form of empowerment that many currently don’t have.
He believes that the App will incentivize farmers to increase the quality of produce through direct access to Suppliers of quality fertilizers, equipment, training, financial services, and Government assistance programs.
“This App will provide farmers exposure to new buyers and suppliers, both domestic and international. It will improve competitiveness of the farmers and also improve competitiveness of buyers if they want to maintain their market share of farm produce purchases,” he explained.
Mr. Odonga, also said, the smartphone-based fromyfarm App will provide the benefits identified in the Uganda Government Digital Transformation Roadmap which include, Economic growth and competitiveness, Inclusive development and social impact, Innovation and Entrepreneurship among Data-driven Decision making.
Other benefits that will also be promoted include efficiency and effectiveness in government services Regional Integration and Collaboration through farming efficiencies and increased trade in the East African Community.
To provide security for the rural farmers who are not aware of the risks of going on the internet, fromyfarm design is based on the concept of a ‘Sand box’. This means that when any user is using the smartphone-based fromyfarm app, there are no internet links that can redirect them outside of the App. This restriction ensures farmers, buyers and suppliers can safely buy and sell their produce while avoiding hacker’s internet links.
Fromyfarm app is a cloud-based technology platform provided through Amazon Platform-as-a-Service architecture with world class security features that are automatically scalable to handle large concurrent users.
“Our second strategy is to activate All East African Community (EAC) farmers to join the online e-commerce fromyfarm App commodities trading exchange so that they can maximise their farm output and profitability,”he stressed.
The EAC includes Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, DR Congo, South Sudan and Somalia with a combined total population of over 300,000,000 which is about 3.7% of the total world population of 8 billion.
The importance of commercializing smallholder farmers through e-commerce participation is supported by available information from the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations estimating that Ugandan farm production capacity can feed 200million people with 80 percent of Uganda’s land being arable yet only 35 percent is being cultivated. With the smart phone fromyfarm app technology-based tool all farmers even in the village can produce for the global market.
It also indicates that Uganda has nearly 50% of all the arable land in the East African Community countries, making a strong source of food supply for a significant part of the horn of Africa where there has been food shortage for decades.
The third strategy of the App is to activate all Sub-Sahara African Countries farmers to join the e-commerce fromyfarm App commodities trade exchange so that they can maximise their farm output and profitability. It would also promote intra-Africa trade as farmers, buyers and suppliers develop better relationships through fromyfarm App community forum social media.
It is estimated that Africa contains nearly 60% of the world’s uncultivated agricultural land that could feed the entire world if all its arable land was productive. Unfortunately, the reality Africa is a significant dependent food importer with many starving peoples.
Fromyfarm App has been developed to be easily useable by farmers in Uganda who have at least 7years of primary school education with over 80% of farmers haing had no formal training in agriculture techniques necessary for efficient use of their land to maximize their productivity while protecting their environment,” he said. This drives a majority of them to having no choice but to sell their produce at very low price to middlemen who then sell to large markets and maximize their profits at the expense of the farmers.
Mr Odonga explained that although most farmers can afford to buy the low-cost chinese smartphones, however, a majority of them cannot afford to stay online in order monitor and sell to their markets which are Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, South Sudan, Rwanda and democratic republic of Congo. Fromyfarm App will help farmers by using a combination of Internet and SMS technology to keep them connected even when they are offline. This is a major innovation and will be significant money saver for farmers.
The final ultimate goal is for all farmers globally to be able to use fromyfarm app to maximise their profitability through increased production and efficiencies in the open market.
With planned future developments of the fromyfarm App, Mr Odonga said it will deliver a number of innovative solutions that are expected to grow agricultural incomes and trade.
This video shows how the App contributes towards the Uganda Govt’s Digital Transformation Roadmap initiatives.
